Drink

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘you would have asked him  and he would have given you living water.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.”

At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” 

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment  and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” 

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.” (John 4:5-42)

The ”Woman at the Well” is a story full of Lenten meaning captured by Megan McKenna who wrote in her 1996 book “Lent: Reflections and Stories on the Daily Readings” (begin) The third Sunday of Lent we come to the well and are reminded of the fountain of water springing up in our midst – the Spirit of God given to us at baptism.  We too are asked, “How deep is your heart and how wide is your thirst?”  We gather together around the wellspring and share the source of life: the word and the eucharist.  Today we are called to dig into our souls and hearts and let ourselves be seen, sinners and yet disciples, called to salvation and rejoicing.   We leave our jugs at the well and return to our places, trusting in the presence of God in our midst.  We thirst for the will of God to be done on earth; for the kingdom of peace and justice to come to our towns and villages; and for God to be worshipped in our lives so that the glory of God seeps out into the world, a world that watches to see if we are truly believers in this Jesus, whose heart is deeper and wider than ever we could have hoped. (end)

John wrote: “The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?’—For Jews use [or have] nothing in common with Samaritans.”  Do we have the same attitude about people who differ from us in nationality, gender, belief and/or race?  Do we meet them at our wells or theirs?

Jesus said: “You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.”  According to Wikipedia: (begin) By the time Jesus came along, the Samaritans [ancient Jewish sect] had lived in the land for more than 700 years. They developed their own narrative of the region's history and considered themselves the true Israel. Samaritans wanted to be the rightful heirs of the land, claiming descent from Ephraim and Manasseh. The Jews called them "half-breeds." 

The Samaritans built their own temple which the Jews considered pagan. The feud grew, and by the time of Christ, the Jews hated the Samaritans so much they crossed the Jordan river rather than travel through Samaria. Among the most significant differences between the Samaritans and the Jews is the site which they believe God chose for his dwelling. While the Jews hold that God chose Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Samaritans believe he chose Mount Gerizim near Shechem. (end)

Therefore, Jesus going into Samaria and speaking to a Samaritan woman was a very big deal as was his statement: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  

We all need to repeatedly go to Jesus’ well for that water always available to quench our thirst for love, justice, peace, forgiveness, and salvation.  We only have to drink.

Deacon David Pierce